[at-l] Ramble on A Question Of Trail

[rickboudrie@hotmail.com (rick boudrie)]

Just a few random  thoughts....

In my town they just built an adult community where there used to be a fine 
forest.  The owner had fallen behind on his taxes to the tune of $350,000 
and was forced to sell.  Hard to collect rent on a forest in MA to pay your 
taxes. That is the kind of Government taking that brings a tear to my eye.

The next town over the local land trust (SVT) has worked with a local land 
owner to preserve his 7 million dollar farm acerage in perpetuity.  That 
makes me glad that there are some Weary's down this direction too.  The 
parcel is contingent to a Natonal Wildlife Refuge.

I visited my inlaws farm over Easter.  It is now a lake in SE Iowa.  Saw a 
couple turkeys.  The lake and surounding land will be protected for 
perpetuity, because of some public servants vision.   I think they like that 
legacy for thier land.  Sure beats a hog factory moving in, anyway.

The constitution specifies that if the government takes your property, then 
you must be justly compensated.  Their are mechanisms in place for 
determining that compensation, and due process.  Sometimes the outcome is 
good, sometimes it is not.  Sometimes the courts have wisdom and sometimes 
they err.  In the case of Saddleback, those mechanisms were bypassed by high 
level political moves.  Who you know makes a difference.  And who you buy.  
In the case of Saddleback, the kind you buy came in the form of George 
Mitchell.  Is it any wonder why some are frustrated over that? There was no 
process when push came to shove. I know my inlaws didn't have that kid of 
clout. Did the breens get a fair price?  Who knows.  You had politicians and 
high-priced lobyists making political moves in the back rooms.  As bad as 
the alternative ways of determining value in these situations may be, this 
was not a case study in how things should be done.  On balance, I would 
always like to see the land holder paid a premium, but this was one wacky 
way of determining value.

Once land is developed, it is generally can't be undeveloped.  Of all the 
governmenatal takings I think those that will have an impact on our 
children's children are the most important.  I think this is more important 
than condeming land for a shopping center, anyway.

Finally, I am grateful to those who have left a legacy of natural places for 
my generation to enjoy.  I find it remarkable that so many people had these 
values 50, 100 and more years ago when there was such an abundance of these 
places.





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